I'm learning how my Ooma handsets work (thanks to murphy) but so far I'd say the sound quality is "OK but not great."

I have a couple of legacy telephones, one a remote cordless VTECH and the other a 1984 vintage AT&T needs-a-cord push button only phone from just after the breakup. In today's dollars the AT&T probably would be $120, I seem to remember paying $40 for it.

On this AT&T phone, the sound quality is the best I've ever heard on a telephone system. It really feels like the person is in the room with you. I surmise that at that time people still foolishly put money into simple high quality components.

The VTECH isn't far behind, it is a 1998 vintage. It has the agreeable feature of being "chin shoulder friendly."

I ordered a Panasonic KX-TG6511B DECT 6.0 cordless hoping that it might be as good as the VTECH which has been 100% reliable--after the LCD failed after the first year. I just kept using it anyhow. Anyhow it's got good sound. We'll see what happens.

It would be worth it to get a well built phone with excellent sound quality. But it seems that as prices rise you get more features but the same trashy components.

I don't know whether current corded phones perform well since my AT&T is turning out to be one of my wisest purchasing decisions, made at the sunrise of the communications revolution. But I will say that if you can get a good quality corded phone and plug it into Ooma via wire you're going to get sound quality that knocks your socks off.

Meantime, my Ooma handset replacement arrived for the failed unit. It works very well, unlike the other the display works, EXCEPT that the battery has failed. Won't charge to full and quickly shows empty. What a hassle.

It will be nice when I'm settled in to this new system and not thinking about it anymore.